Not Worth It
by Miss Pookie Fethers
Summary: Settling back into life away from Gravity Falls hasn't been easy for Mabel so far. And one day, when she finds herself in a particularly troublesome dilemma, someone has to be there to protect her.


_**Cover art by Takkoyaki. Used with permission.**_

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 **Not Worth It**

"Come on, Mabel, it'll be fun."

"I... I don't know. It seems a little..."

"A little what?"

"Just..."

Mabel sighed, hiding her hands in her long sleeves and looking down at her feet. "It just feels _wrong_."

Her friend, Karen, huffed irritably. "You're such a bore, Mabel. I thought you were one of the cool people."

"But I don't want to _steal_ things, Karen! That's not cool!"

"Whatever. I'm just going to do it myself. You coming or not? Or are you going home like a chicken?"

Mabel tried to suppress the hurt rising from her stomach. She and Karen had not known each other for long, but she still considered her a good friend in many ways. Right now though, she was finding it very difficult to enjoy her company.

She bit her trembling lip. On top of everything else, she didn't want Karen to see her cry. "I... I'm coming."

The supermarket they walked into was very quiet, which Mabel was relieved about; but she still couldn't be rid of the fear in her gut as she followed Karen through the aisles, feeling like a trained puppy as she mirrored her every movement with her head low and her hands still tucked away in her sweater. Dipper would have hated seeing her like this, and certainly wouldn't approve of what she was doing: going along with the actions of someone she didn't agree with just to make them like her. That wasn't what the free-spirited Mabel Pines would normally do at all. But as she spared glances to Karen – the taller girl with the perfect make-up, perfect clothes, and twinkling star-shaped studs in her ears – she wanted more than anything to be accepted by her. It was lonely for her in Piedmont, (aside from Dipper's company) and friendships were apparently much harder to find than they were in Gravity Falls.

So with a heavy heart, she followed Karen to the most remote area of the store: a corner where all kinds of bottles were stacked on the shelves in front of them. The sugar-addict in Mabel jumped around in delight as her eyes landed on the choices of fizzy drinks that would give her enough energy to run around the town for days. But when she looked at Karen, noticing the way her eyes gained their thoughtful, fox-like look, her excitement dropped and her conscience began to nag her. This wasn't the fun she hoped it might have been.

"So, Mabel, since you came along..." Karen put her spindly hands to her hips, examining the shelves, "I've got a test for you."

Her bushy, bubblegum hair shook as she glanced around them for a moment, checking who was nearby. Then her attention was on Mabel, her eyes cunning, and her brows raised, suddenly making the shorter girl feel particularly small. "Take a bottle."

Mabel blinked. "Right," she replied, feigning ignorance. "So I can take it to the nice man at the counter and pay a couple of dollars?" She smiled a toothy grin hopefully. Karen looked unimpressed.

"No," she said venomously. "You're going to take it and put it in your bag. Leave without paying."

"Wh-what?"

"Go on, Mabel. I know you'll do it. You want to be one of the _cool_ kids, don't you?" Karen leaned down to bring her face closer, and it reminded Mabel of the way her schoolteacher had asked her, in a rather patronizing way, to explain why pigs were not the right pets to bring to school. She didn't like that lady.

"Well, yeah, but..." She put her hands behind her back, her feet beginning to shuffle from side to side. "... I don't like this, Karen."

The older girl was losing patience. "Oh, come on, you're such a _wimp_!" she snapped, the volume of her voice startling Mabel. "I'll never hang out with you again if you don't do this! I don't hang out with losers!"

"But-"

"Come on, Pines, we haven't got all day! Take that one!" She jabbed a finger at the nearest bottle. Mabel heaved a sigh, noticing it was her favourite energy drink (next to her very own Mabel-juice of course), and the temptation was agonizing. But still, she had to try and resist.

"I can't, Karen, I'm sorry."

She winced as the pink-haired teenager clenched her fists in rage. "You want to be humiliated, Pines? You want to lose all your friends?"

"No, but-"

"So do as I say then! Do it if you don't want me and everyone in the town to reduce you to-"

But what happened next shocked both girls into complete silence, the conversation forgotten entirely. Before Karen could finish her sentence, her outstretched finger was frozen in place by a strange aura of blue light, illuminating her entire arm. Something about their surroundings seemed to change too: it was as if everything stopped moving, the people halted in their movements, and even breathing itself was paused. Mabel, at first, was confused, and then a sense of familiarity came over her. Her summer in Gravity Falls had made her used to phenomenons of such a calibre, and she rarely saw anything that could surprise her any more. At first, she thought: _Wow! Weirdness has followed me here to save me! Yay!_ But that thought bubble was quickly popped as a familiar voice came into her ears and filled her with a sickening dread she'd hoped to never feel again.

"Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, Marshmallow, but where I'm from, the word 'no' roughly translates to: _No thanks, No can do, Nope, 'Not happening'_ , – or something like that?"

Mabel put her hands to her mouth in horror as Karen was lifted off her feet into a fetal position, screaming, being forced to stare up at the entity fading into view above her. Mabel felt sick to the stomach as she looked straight into his singular eye, and recognized his glowing, yellow form along with his smart tie and hat. It was definitely him... but she couldn't believe he was real. He _couldn't_ be. He'd been destroyed – for good. How could he be here now? But the proof was there, and it was as if she could feel his giant fingers wrapped around her body once again; even though, right then, all his attention was focused on Karen.

"Or am I just crazy? Oh, wait! Stupid question!" he exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

"What are you doing?" Karen shrieked hysterically. "Put me down, freak!"

"Freak! Ha, that's flattering, kid. _Big_ time. But seriously, I need to get this into your head."

Mabel stared, her body frozen, as the dream demon pulled Karen closer with a simple flick of his finger. She noticed the angry look in his eye that had always scared her so much. "The kid said _no_. She doesn't want to do your dirty work. So would you be smart enough to take my advice and leave her alone?"

"I-I..." The pale look on Karen's face was something Mabel had never seen before, and while a small part of her was glad about it, she was too stunned by what she was seeing and hearing from the entity she knew despised her with every inch of his being. At least, that's what she'd always assumed.

"Need an answer, Marshmallow," he said sharply, his hands alight with the threat of harmful-looking fire. "Unless you wanna find out what Bill Cipher's good at doing with stick figure mortals."

"I-I'll leave her alone!" Karen screamed, hiding her face in her hands. "I promise! J-just put me down! _Please!_ "

Mabel suddenly felt awful for her, despite everything. She would never wish harm on anyone, even those who had made her life a misery like Pacifica Northwest. Her heart was too kind for that. But as she was about to step up and protect her from whatever hideous fate awaited her, the demon released his glowing hold on her with a snap of his fingers, and she crashed to the floor in an unceremonious heap.

"Good choice," he remarked, his arms folded as he looked down on her from above. "Now why don't you get out of here before I change my mind?"

Mabel reached a comforting hand towards Karen, but was unable to make any contact, for the older girl quickly scrambled to her feet, seemingly ignorant of anyone around her, and ran straight down the aisle towards the exit. She stared after her, aghast, and with all the bravery she could muster, she slowly turned around, hoping that _he_ was no longer there.

But there he was, in all his glory, making Mabel seriously consider that she was having a nightmare. The triangular shaped dream demon, with his hat and bow-tie, and the condescending look in his single eye, reminding Mabel of the day she had seen an entire town transformed into a breeding ground for chaos and anarchy. She was terrified, confused, and amazed all at once. It took all she had to get words out.

" _Bill_? What are you-"

"You saw nothing, Shooting Star," Bill said quietly, avoiding her stare by glancing towards a nearby wall.

"But-"

"I was _never_ here!" he suddenly snapped, jabbing a finger at her. "You got that? You saw _nothing_."

"But why-"

"Just a word of advice, kid. It's a little rich coming from yours truly, but don't go getting with the wrong crowd. It's not worth it."

She frowned at him, at a loss. This was Bill Cipher after all, and totally unlike him. "Bill, why did you-"

"See you around, Pines."

Before Mabel could ask any of the questions harboured within her, Bill vanished, his glowing form dissolving into nothing, and the atmosphere of the room returning to its normal state. She stood silently, shifting her gaze all around her, making sure he was really gone, and listened for any sounds of people screaming or running to the scene to investigate the goings on. But it seemed this area of the store really was the quietest, and the family now coming around the corner appeared oblivious of the events. The young mum of two boys _did_ however notice the expression on Mabel's face as her eyes landed on her, making her realise how alarmed she must have looked.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" she asked politely, her hands swinging as she kept a grip on the two small boys trying to take things from shelves. It reminded Mabel only too well of the awful thing she'd almost done. For the sake of the concerned mother's feelings, she quickly reverted back to her characteristic grin with her tense hands placed behind her back.

"Yep! All good over here! Mabel's great! No problems whatsoever! All fine! Thanks for asking!"

She realised she might have said one word too many to be convincing to the mother, who gave a small, uncertain nod. Mabel pursed her lips awkwardly, swaying from side to side with the movement of her bouncy feet. Then she thought it would be a good idea to get out of there before anything else happened.

"The ice-cream here's good! Take some for your kids! Bye!"

And with that sales pitch and a polite wave, she was out like a flash, desperate for the fresh air to cool her dizzy head. As soon as she made it outside, all her panic and confusion came back in one go, making her unsteady on her feet. She put her hands on her knees as she tried to think about what just happened.

Karen had asked her... no, _told_ her... okay, _demanded_ her – to steal from the store, something she was completely against; she'd refused time and time again, and then... Bill Cipher. _Bill Cipher!_ He'd turned up out of nowhere and... well, most of what happened after that was an out-of-character weird-fest in her opinion. The mere fact she had seen him again was enough to make her pace around on the grass, regaining her breath, and trying to stop herself from screaming the town down with her arms flailing around.

Questions and worries began to run around in her head, which was almost too much for her thirteen year-old brain to handle. What should she do? She ought to tell Dipper, but she knew the protective brotherly instincts in him would take over, leading him to freak out and do something rash. Should she try and contact Grunkle Stan? Or Grunkle Ford? Perhaps, but they were probably on the other side of the world by now. Or should she do nothing? Do as Bill said and pretend she never saw him? But if she did that, she knew she would feel like exploding in a matter of hours.

And then there was the question of _how_? _How_ was he back? Appearing in her hometown of all places, and not Gravity Falls? But why he was back at all was the bigger question. And why _now_? She and Dipper had just become settled into their normal lives again. They were happy. How could she be happy _now,_ with her worst nightmare very literally becoming reality?

But the biggest question burning in the back of her mind was something she had never expected to wonder. Above all the worries, above all the fear she had building up inside, nearly tearing her apart; above all of it, she had one yearning question in her head that she wished she could have asked Bill before he disappeared.

 _Why did you do that for me?_

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 **Hope you enjoyed this little fic!**

 **I love this show to death and couldn't WAIT to post my first story for it. I'm afraid I have a weakness for this pairing. It's oddly adorable.**

 **Please tell me what you think in reviews! And thanks for reading! :)**

 **EDIT (08/09/2016): Four reviews and seven favourites in under 9 hours?! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much! :D**


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